Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou announced that James Maddison is getting closer to a return from injury and could be available by the end of January.
The England centre-forward injured ligaments in his ankle during the Premier League defeat to city rivals Chelsea on 6 November and has not been on the pitch since. However, Postecoglou remains optimistic that he could return before the FA Cup fourth round match against Manchester City on 26 January, barring any further complications in the next two weeks.
Postecoglou told reporters: “It’s getting closer. He hasn’t trained with the group yet. Obviously we have two weeks after Man United and I will hope that between the two Manchester games he will train again with the first team, if only there are no new complications in this two-week window.”
Asked if Maddison would be ready for the City game, he replied: “That depends on when he starts training. If he starts training early next week, it’s possible, but it remains to be seen how they train with the first team and how they feel. He and Manor Solomon are the next two who should be pretty close after this (the week after the City game), if there are no complications.”
Tottenham already strengthened their squad at the start of the January transfer window with Timo Werner, on loan from RB Leipzig, and centre-back Radu Dragusin, who arrived from Genoa for €30m (£25.8m). They are just a point behind third-placed City and six points behind leaders Liverpool, fuelling talk of a title challenge in north London.
Postecoglou believes they are in it to win it and stresses that they will finish the campaign better than they did in the first phase, which was marred by injuries and suspensions.
He asked a journalist for a definition of “title race” and was told that the Spurs have “a realistic chance of winning the title”.
“Yes, by that definition, if I said ‘no’, they would turn to me and say ‘go Ange’,” Postecoglou added.
“It’s a really difficult period behind us, but we’re holding on. In four games the results have gone against us, but we have battled back. We are still in the game. Our performances have been pretty consistent for the most part. But all this is meaningless if we don’t finish the season better than we did in the first half of the season, and that’s what we have to do.”
Postecoglou will be boosted by the return of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero ahead of Sunday’s away game at Old Trafford. The Lilly-whites beat Manchester United earlier in the campaign and a new win would not only boost their title chances but also help them complete a rare league double after the 1989-90 campaign.